Baseball team upsets top seed

By Gene Morris, gmorris@miconews.com

Jonathan Pomatto rears back, ready to fire one home for the Paola High School baseball team in its Class 4A regional playoff game against Osawatomie on Monday. The Panthers upset the Trojans 5-4 in extra innings. (Photo by David Wolmann)

Matt Werkowitch pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning and singled in the top of the eighth inning to drive home what proved to be the game-winner as the eighth-seeded Paola High School Panthers upset top-seeded Osawatomie 5-4 in the first round of the Class 4A regional baseball tournament in Ottawa.

“The kids did a good job of battling,” Paola coach Paul Brack said. “We had a rough season, but they came out ready to play.”

Paola (4-16) upset the top-seeded Osawatomie Trojans to advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Tuesday. Results were not available at press time.

Jonathan Pomatto allowed just two hits over the first six innings for Paola against Osawatomie, giving way to Werkowitch in the seventh inning.

The Panthers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning when the Trojans struck for three runs to tie the game.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Osawatomie failed to score.

Pomatto walked to open the eighth inning, stole second base and scored on a single by Werkowitch.

Werkowitch dodged trouble in the seventh inning, retiring the second batter of the frame with a pop up to short. He then left the bases loaded, getting the final out of the inning with a strikeout.

“Pomatto pithed a heck of a game,” Brack said. “Werkowitch got the ball with the bases loaded and we got a ground ball to third, threw home for the out, got a fly ball to short and a strikeout to get out of it. Any given day, anything can happen. If we win our next game, we could be playing a seventh or eighth seed for the title.”

Pomatto and Werkowitch singled in the fourth inning and scored on a one-out single by Coty McNutt.

Pomatto reached on an error in the sixth inning, stole second and scored on a single by Kurtis Burton. Burton scored on an error, making it 4-1. Osawatomie tied the game at 4-4 and Paola came back to win it 5-4.